Most citizens of Ireland are lucky, in that other than those living in Dublin, the size of their towns or cities does not deprive them of access to the countryside, or its way of life.

I have made a number of attempts to discover the academic qualifications that are required to become a civil servant. Even a request by me to one local TD Seán Sherlock failed to earn an acknowledgement.

It is amazing how time flies and so do the opportunities that may have occurred. It is nearly five years since it was discovered how broke the country was and the big rush to the panic stations — to do what?